On a Sunday Morning
by sideoflight
Summary: Sunday morning Mac comes to Stella's apartement for a visit. Oneshot, Mac and Stella friendship.No slash.


CSI: NY

I do not own the characters.

**About the story: **this is just a one-shot I thought of today. Mac and Stella friendship, hopefully not too much out of character. Although I'm a fan of them as a couple, I stuck with canon this time. ;) I hope you'll like it.

Also, my mother tongue is not English so I apologize in advance for any grammatical mistakes, especially wrongly placed comas.

Reviews are very welcome.

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The raindrops were softly tapping on the windowsill in the early morning, lulling Stella back to sleep. The thought of breakfast was no match against warmth of her bed and she snuggled a bit deeper in her covers. It was Sunday morning and she had the day off work. No force could bring her up so early today.

…Except visitors.

Someone knocked on the door of her apartment, making her groan.

"Just a minute!" she yelled to the visitor and rolled out of bed.

Quickly putting on some clothes, she dashed towards the door and stopped to collect herself.

"Hey Stell, did I wake you?"

It was Mac. Raindrops glistened on his hair and jacket and in his left hand he held a white plastic bag.

She smiled.

"Umbrellas really aren't your thing, eh?"

He shook his head with a small smile and stepped inside when she motioned for him to do so.

"So, what brings you here this early in the morning?" she asked with a smile while taking his coat and hanging it.

"It's almost 10am, Stella. I wouldn't call it exactly early morning." He joked. "Anyway, I thought you might want to have fresh bagels for breakfast…Still warm."

"It sounds too tempting to decline." She answered and snatched the bag from his hands. Leaning closer, she could smell freshly baked bagels and she closed her eyes, enjoying the sweet scent.

"Ah, I could smell them all day." Taking the bag to the kitchen she yelled back. "You still haven't answered my question!"

"I know." He sat on a couch in her living room and briefly looked at the titles in yesterday's paper which was lying on the coffee table near the couch.

Stella came back with two plates filled with butter, marmalade and naturally; bagels. After carefully setting them on the table, she returned to kitchen for two glasses of orange juice.

Without another word they started eating, enjoying the companionable silence which was worth so much more than words.

After half an hour or so, of listening only to the rain outside and occasional clatter of china, Stella got up to make some coffee.

When it was done, she came back to the living room and handed one cup to Mac and sat back on the couch with her own steaming mug.

"Did you come here just for breakfast?" Stella tried to start the conversation. She intuitively felt something was bothering Mac but he was bottling it up.

"Would it be wrong if I did?" he smiled. "It's been a long time since we talked outside of work."

She looked suspiciously at him. Her instincts were telling her something was wrong, but she didn't want to press Mac too much.

"Mac, whatever is bothering you, you can tell me. You know I'm here for you."

He nodded wearily, leaning back on the couch and closing his eyes. Dark circles under his eyes confirmed what Stella suspected for a while now.

"You haven't slept."

He sighed. "No, I've been walking all night. Thinking. It's…it _would _be our anniversary today."

Stella nodded sympathetically. She put a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it, feeling words would only ruin the moment.

"She was the one Stella." He continued, rubbing his eyes. "We had so much but such a short time…I-I can't let it go. Not even now."

"What about Peyton?" she asked quietly, noticing a brief look of guilt passing his features.

"I don't know." He whispered. Stella knew too well he won't talk about their relationship, but she pressed on.

"Do you love her Mac?"

He didn't answer. Instead he looked to the floor and nodded.

Stella moved closer, putting an arm around his shoulder protectively.

"Listen to me Mac. Peyton has been the best thing that happened to you ever since Claire."

She continued gently. "Don't avoid new love just because you can't let go of the last. Otherwise you will realize one day that you are all alone." She leaned her head on his shoulder and added with a smile.

"And you'll end up having breakfast with me every Sunday."


End file.
